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Maryport nurse retires after 48 years

A Maryport practice nurse has retired after 48 years in the health profession.

Margaret Watson

Margaret Watson, 65, has been a practice nurse at Maryport Health Services for 28 years.

She started her training, aged 17, in a London hospital before returning to become the West Cumberland Hospital’s youngest nursing sister, aged 23.

She said: “I was night sister in the intensive care unit. That gave me the confidence to face anything else in my career.”

Mrs Watson, of Lime Grove, became the first practice nurse at the Maryport practice.

She added: “There were only five doctors at the time and district nurses would pop into the surgery during the day to do anything necessary. Now there are 11 doctors, five health care workers and seven nurses.”

Her job description has changed over the years, she added.

She said: “I remember when nurses did all the routine work and made the doctors’ coffee. That has changed now. We do a lot more specialised work and have our own caseloads.”

Mrs Watson has been the respiratory nurse at Maryport Health Services for several years.

She said: “I am going to miss so much, even being stopped in the Co-op by patients wanting to know blood test results or which inhalers they need.”

Mrs Watson and her husband Allan, who has also retired, said they were looking forward to walks. She said she wanted to improve her photography, tend her garden and spend more time with four grandchildren, including two in Australia.